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By Oluseye Ojo
The Chairman of the Governorship/House of Assembly Primary Election Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Olawale Abdusalam, on Wednesday dismissed reports that some governorship aspirants had been disqualified ahead of the party’s governorship primary scheduled for Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Abdusalam, who addressed journalists at the APC state secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan, said no aspirant seeking the party’s governorship ticket had been screened out, contrary to reports circulating on social media.
The clarification followed widespread reports alleging that the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agricultural Colleges and Institutions, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli, and former Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had been disqualified from the race.
Media teams of both politicians had earlier rejected the reports, describing them as false and misleading.
Abdusalam, a former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, said the committee remained committed to delivering what he described as a near-perfect governorship primary capable of producing a strong candidate for the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We are determined to conduct a credible and hitch-free exercise that will produce candidates capable of winning elections for the APC in 2027,” he said.
The committee chairman assured party members and aspirants that adequate logistics and arrangements had been put in place to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise.
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He also expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the House of Assembly primaries held across the state on Wednesday, revealing that 90 aspirants were cleared to contest for the APC tickets in the 32 state constituencies.
According to him, the overriding interest of the party is to reclaim the governorship seat in Oyo State, urging aspirants and party faithful to conduct themselves peacefully and abide by the party’s rules.
“What is paramount to the party is to reclaim the governorship seat in Oyo State. We appeal to all members and aspirants to play the game according to the rules in the overall interest of the party,” he added.
Abdusalam further cautioned party members against speculating on results, stressing that only the national leadership of the APC in Abuja has the authority to officially announce the outcomes of the primaries after collating results from across the state.
Also speaking at the briefing, the chairman of the APC Primary Election Monitoring Team in Oyo State, Chief Ayo Afolabi, said the team was closely monitoring the exercise and would forward its observations to the party’s national headquarters.
Meanwhile, it was disclosed at the press conference that the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), Remi Oseni, representing the Ido/Ibarapa Federal Constituency, has secured the APC ticket for the Oyo South Senatorial District, while incumbent Senator Yunus Akintunde retained the party’s ticket for Oyo Central Senatorial District.
However, the party said no official result had yet been announced for the Oyo North Senatorial District primary election.
